A Choice's Change
by LordGodsServant
Summary: What if Sozin hadn't left Roku to die.  What if he'd saved him.  Would he have pursued a path of war still?  Watch as the world you know is changed.  Watch as the War takes a new setting and the characters you know take a new set of roles.  AU
1. Prologue

_I've had this idea for awhile and only recently got my account, be warned, I will most likely try to concentrate on my other story "Robin's Adventure" before I really can consider taking this one up on a regular basis._

_ON WITH THE STORY!_

* * *

_History is a strange thing; one simple choice can change the fate of many lives._

"Sozin . . . please . . . help me!" Roku wheezed, begging his friend not to choose a path that would put thousands innocent blood on both their hands.

"Without you . . . all my plans are suddenly possible."

Roku fell on his face, he had failed, he was no Avatar, he would die here and Sozin would go on to make war on the world.

Suddenly he felt arms grab him and pull him up onto something scaly, then he heard Sozin say "don't worry; we'll be at the Palace infirmary soon."

Roku's last thoughts were "_Sozin saved me . . . Sozin saved me . . . Sozin . . . saved . . . me!"_

And then he blacked out.

Later, Roku woke up in the infirmary of the Palace. He looked around the room and saw Sozin sitting on a nearby chair. Upon seeing he was awake Sozin became very obviously nervous. Roku couldn't blame him, they had had bad blood between them for decades and Roku had threatened to get rid of him if Sozin ever made a war of aggression under his watch.

As he saw how Sozin was sweating and looking at the floor in an extreme amount of shame, all of Roku's feelings of resentment towards him evaporated. He smiled widely, and said, in a rather cracked voice "thank you . . . old friend."

Sozin smiled in relief and walked over to his friend's bedside. Awkwardly, because Roku had so many bandages on, they hugged, and in that hug, any bad blood between them was forgotten. They were brothers in all but blood again.

* * *

_Avatar Roku died a year later from blood poisoning. After his death Firelord Sozin and Monk Gyatso became extremely good friends. They began to attempt to further relations between their two nations. This was somewhat difficult as the Airbenders had been the logical step for Firelord Sozin's campaign. Avatar Aang was born in the Southern Air Temple and was deemed by the monks after he chose the appropriate toys, to be the next incarnation of the Avatar. Firelord Sozin meanwhile dedicated as much time as he could to furthering relations between the foreign nations. He was especially successful with Omashu. The King of Omashu was quite willing to open trade and many other agreements and both nations prospered. Kyoshi Island also thrived off of trade from the Fire Nation and they grew in size until they were no long a simple village and could call themselves an island nation. _

_The greatest challenge for Sozin was the Southern Water Tribe. There was a natural current of conflict between them, being opposite elements. But through many gifts and great aid rendered, Sozin finally melted the ice so to speak. Water chief Hurujitsu opened up relations and both nations thrived from the cooperation. _

_This force of trade and cooperation eventually became known as the Triple Alliance. The Airbenders eventually entered in after much persuading from Monk Gyatso and became a valuable member. Sozin was made aware by Monk Gyatso of the identity of the new Avatar and, after Aang himself had been told. He invited him many times to be his guest of honor. _

_However, not all was well with the world. In the Northenmost of the Earth Kingdom of Ba Sing Se, west of the Northern Air Temples and East of the Fire Nation, the peasants and even the governors clamored for independence. They felt that the Earth king had no real care for them and that they were taxed far too heavily. The Earth King, whose grandfather had been Chin the Conquerer, refused their every request. The fires of rebellion grew hotter._

_The Northern Water Tribe's chief Pachona was unsatisfied with his position. He wished to expand the Northern Water Tribe. He met with Earth King Hachma and they both planned to go to war. _

* * *

"When shall we strike?"

"On the day of the Eclipse, the great Fire Nation shall be unprepared."

"How have the mighty fallen, Sozin could've made his empire into one to frighten the whole world. Instead he chose to waste it on building relations with others. But what of the Avatar, surely he will attempt to stop us?"

"I have a plan; the next Avatar is an Airbender. Thus, on the invasion day, we shall eliminate the problem by eliminating the Airbenders."

* * *

_The Day of Black Sun invasion was a very complicated day. The Northern Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom gathered troops around each temple in disguise and waited. But a plan within a plan took place. The Earth generals had not received their final orders dictating the slaughter of the Airbenders until a day before it was scheduled to take place. The Earth General in charge of the Nothern Earth fleet was General Tsu-Lan. The Governers of the Northern Earth Provinces had all met and collaborated for a very daring thing to do, declare independence. They had spent years maneuvering their men into military powers and putting more and more men from their home provinces into their portion of the armies. _

_General Tsu-Lan was such a man and when he heard of the slaughter that was scheduled to take place, he saw an opportunity. He quickly dictated messages to the leaders of the Triple Alliance and to the Airbenders. He was anchored on the South portion of the Western Air Temples. The Northern Water Tribe Fleet was anchored on the northern portion. He warned the Airbenders and had his men set up to defend the temple. He also wrote letters to the men who had been chosen to lead the revolution._

_The day of the invasion was a partial success for the two enemy Kingdoms. They managed to catch the other three temples unaware and slaughter the Airbenders there, but the Avatar was not to be found. Sozin and the other leaders, upon receiving the news. Marshalled their militaries and attacked the armies who were responsible for the Airbender's deaths. The armies retreated into their own territory. _

_Sozin's son Azulon arrived at the Western Air Temple to find it beleaguered by the Northern Water Tribe forces. With Fire Nation reinforcements they were able to drive back the enemy fleet and the Airbenders took stock of their losses. General Tsu-Lan made his way post-haste to the Northern Provinces, now remade into the kingdom The Splinter of Peasants. There he set up the new government and was elected several times to lead. He was remembered by many as a great man._

_Sozin personally led his army to the Southern Air temple. He found a note given to Monk Gyatso a few days prior, in which Aang explained he was running away. Though Sozin looked long and hard he never found Aang. But he made it a tradition for those of the royal bloodline to hunt for the Avatar for a period to honor his friend Roku. He died peacefully and left his Kingdom in the capable hands of his son Azulon._

_The War dragged on. The two Empires as they were named began winning. Many wondered if the war would ever end. Many saw the slow creeping influence of the Empires creep across the land as they gained more and more territory. Many lost hope._

_But then, something happened that many never expected. _

_The Avatar returned . . ._

* * *

**Author's notes:**

_I hope you liked it. I've had this idea for awhile now and I hope I explained it sufficiently. _

_Please review to let me know whether you like this idea or not._

_Good Day and God Bless :)_

_Sincerely, LordGodsServant_


	2. The Boy in the Iceberg

_Here's the first actual chapter_

_Enjoy _

* * *

In the waters north of the Fire Nation a small Fire Nation Frigate was investigating a rare occurrence. An Iceberg had broken off from the island sized icebergs that dominated the Southern Water Tribe and had slowly made its way north. Through a combination of wind, ocean currents, and simple luck, it had survived long enough to be north of the Fire Nation.

As was said before, this was a rare occurrence and one that was deemed necessary by the crown prince of the Fire Nation to investigate. On the deck of the ship, three people sat at a portable table. One was an older man with a gray goatee and a balding head, the other was a middle aged man with already graying hair though he looked as though he still had some good years left in him, and the last was a boy with black hair tied up in a bun on his head. They were playing a three way game. It could be played by four but they were only playing it with three. It was a relatively new game that pitted each of the nations against each other.

The old man, whose name was Iroh, was playing the Airbenders, Lt. Jee, the middle aged man was playing the Earth Kingdom, and Prince Zuko, who was the teenager, was playing the Fire Nation.

As Lt. Jee took his turn Prince Zuko's eyes strayed to the iceberg they were approaching. "So that's the phenomenon that was reported to be moving North several months ago."

"Yes Prince Zuko, the Southern Water Tribe patrols notified us of it."

"I think we should land on it Uncle."

"I can see the interest one might have in treading on such a rare occurrence, especially since I estimate it only has a week to remain, but I can see that you have another reason Prince Zuko, what is it?"

"I think our soldiers should train on it, we need all the experience we can get in fighting the Northern Water Tribe in their own element."

Lt. Jee moved his pieces around and placed the units he had bought, and then he turned to Zuko and said "I think you're right sir, it is also your turn."

Zuko smiled and continued on with the game as they drew closer to the iceberg.

They moored on the side of the Iceberg and most of the crew came ashore. Zuko had the firebenders begin practicing their sets in the hampering cold of the Iceberg and had the normal soldiers begin practicing their fighting techniques on the ice. After making sure no one would fall off and leaving Lt. Jee in charge, Zuko and Iroh hiked off somewhere to train in a more private area.

Once they had found a sufficient area Iroh began running Zuko through his fire sets. Zuko performed them all flawlessly up until it came to the breathing exercises. Iroh sighed, he still wasn't incorporating the notion that fire came from the breath, not the muscles. He instructed Zuko on this and Zuko began to try to incorporate breathing in with his firebending.

During one of the breaks that Iroh demanded (if Zuko had had his way he would've powered right on through without any rest of any sort) Zuko spotted something strange. In the sheer face of ice they were training by he could see what looked like an arrow glowing. As he approached it to get a closer look his uncle inquired what he was doing. He pointed out the light and Iroh walked over to look at it himself. Then Zuko saw two more lights appear like eyes opening. Iroh gasped and Zuko placed his hands on the ice. He began heating them up and they sunk into the ice wall until his arms were fully extended.

Air suddenly blasted out from his hand-made holes and slammed him flat on his back. Iroh immediately went to help him and they both watched as cracks began forming in the wall. Then all the ice exploded outwards and a beam of bluish-white light shot up straight into the sky.

* * *

The aforementioned beam of light was noticeable for miles around. Thus, it was no surprise that a girl on the deck of a tossing ship saw it. The girl was dressed in green and looked to only be about twelve years old. One noticeable feature about her was that one of her eyes looked like it had a milky shroud over it that, along with numerous scars around her left eye. She saw the beam of light and muttered "finally." She then turned to two people playing a game of Pai Sho. One was a man in a uniform, obviously just part of the crew. The other was a girl who looked to be around Zuko's age. She was quite beautiful and her hair was an unusual color of pure white.

The first girl who had spotted the unusual beam of light said to the girl "Yue look; it has to the Avatar."

The girl who's name was apparently Yue said "Or perhaps it's just something to do with the Northern lights. We've been around here before Princess Toph.

The first girl turned back and Yu, while still playing Pai Sho said in a calming voice "Toph, I don't want you to get your hopes up over another dead end. Maybe it would do you some good if you played a game of Pai Sho with me."

Toph whirled around and shouted "I'M NOT GOING TO LET THIS OPPURTUNITY SLIP THROUGH MY GRASP. HELMSMAN, HEAD A COURSE FOR THE LIGHT!"

Toph continued to scan the iceberg and the other two continued on with their game.

At the source of the light, Zuko and Iroh uncovered their eyes which they had covered at the blinding flash of light. They both looked in shock at what had been uncovered. What could be easily distinguished as a Flying Bison was one of the things. The other was a boy with Airbender tattoos running down his forehead, though he looked to be only about 12 years old. The boy stood up and his eyes and tattoos were glowing white, both Iroh and Zuko fell into battle stances. Then the glow left the boy and he fell down. Zuko prodded him in the head a few times with his foot and all he got in response was a small groan.

Then the boy sat up and observed his surroundings. As soon as he saw Iroh and Zuko his face split into a grin. He leapt to his feet and said in a very enthusiastic voice "Hi!"

Iroh and Zuko simply stared at him in confusion. Trying to break the ice, Aang bowed in the customary Fire Nation greeting while saying "greetings, my name is-" but then he stopped suddenly. His bow disappeared and his face scrunched up "ah . . . ah . . . ACHOOOO!" The sneeze was monumental and propelled him at least 10 feet in the air. He fell back to Earth and said in a cheerful voice as if nothing had happened "I'm Aang!"

This was too much for Iroh who burst out laughing, even Zuko grinned at the situation. After Iroh was done laughing Zuko asked "who are you, and for that matter, how were you frozen in the ice?"

"Don't know, I'm from the Southern Air Temple." He heard the Bison grunt and jumped on it, hugging it.

Zuko continued to question him, "why were your eye's glowing like that, and how did you shoot that big bolt of light in the air?"

"I don't know, I just, did."

Iroh nodded "many times we are unaware of our true potential." He then pointed to himself and his nephew in turn "I am Iroh, and this is my nephew Prince Zuko."

Aang's eyes widened "wow, Prince, is Sozin your grandpa or something, I didn't know Azulon had a son yet." Zuko and Iroh just stared at him in confusion until they heard the sound of many feet approaching them. They turned and saw Lt. Jee along with about 10 other men run around a bend to find them.

"Sirs, we saw the beam of light and had no word from you afterwards so we came as soon as we could."

Iroh apologized for not alerting them that they were fine and explained what had happened. After he was done they all looked at Aang. But Aang was looking out to sea at something.

"Ooh, is that your guy's ship?" He asked, pointing out to sea. Zuko looked and felt his stomach clench, "no, that's an Empire ship."

"What's the Empire?"

"No time to explain, we've got to get out of here!"

Zuko turned to Lt. Jee and ordered him to get the ship ready to leave immediately. As the Lt. rushed to do as he was ordered Zuko walked up to Aang "can you ride your bison to our ship, it's moored on the other side of the glacier?"

Though he looked confused, Aang's face brightened "I get to come with you guys, cool!"

He mounted his Bison and they took off. Zuko and Iroh quickly followed.

Toph, looking through a telescope, saw the bison take off. She didn't, however, get a good look at the pilot. "I've found him" she breathed, then her gaze switched to the retreating forms of the Fire Nation soldiers, "as well as his helpers."

She ordered all of the waterbenders to come up on deck.

* * *

_This was originally going to be a lot longer but I decided to split it into two chapters. I hope I didn't sacrifice the quality of the story for it. If so I'm sorry._

_Here's the mailbag:_

PastaSentient

Really interesting! I love it! Looking forward to seeing you update!

_I hope this satisfies you._

Squidcats

Just to get this all straight...

The NWT and BSS are the enemies, much of the surrounding land near BSS is part of the alliance, and one about fourth of the Airbenders survived- all of them female. Presumably the SWT is still in relatively good shape, and the FN is still stable- the same holding true for KI and Omashu. The rest of the earth kingdom is being contested, yes? This is an interesting concept, and I'm eager to see where the story leads.

_I'll explain the things you talked about later in the story._

KaliAnn

You truthfully are remarkable and showed a great what if? I do enjoy your redemption and healing. I have to say you personally inspired me to use some spiritual nature in my Young Justice story. I hope to read more of your work whether its YJ or Airbender soon

_Thanks, I'm glad to have a reader like you reviewing my stories. I hope this lived up to your expectations._

* * *

_If you really want me to get inspired to continue this, review please._

_Good Day and God Bless :)_

_Sincerely, LordGodsServant_


	3. The Avatar Returns

**WARNING: I have made alterations to the previous chapter. I had originally intended for Tyro (Haru's father) to be Toph's uncle. But now have changed my mind after I realized that he was only really there to try and be a copy of Iroh for Toph. Yue is now Toph's main helper.**

* * *

The Empire ship fell behind them over the rest of the day as did the Iceberg. At first Zuko had been concerned that it might have Waterbenders aboard and that they might catch them. But it appeared that it had no Waterbenders and that it was an older model Earth Kingdom ship. By the end of the day it was off in the distance.

Once Zuko had made sure they weren't going to catch up to his ship he and Iroh looked for Aang. The found him in the front of the ship, looking with admiration up and down the sleek metal hull.

"The Fire Nation sure know how to make its ships, I only ever saw them from a distance whenever I was flying on my Bison or in the shipyards from the palace."

"You've been in the Imperial Palace before?"

"Oh yeah, Sozin invited me a lot and I got pretty familiar with the place."

Zuko noted that he called him "Sozin" and not "Firelord Sozin" which suggested that he had known him well.

"How could Sozin have invited you to the Palace? You're only 11 years old!"

"12 actually and why does that disqualify me from being invited by the Firelord?"

"You couldn't have known him; you're too young to have even met him!"

Aang was about to reply when Lt. Jee called out "Prince Zuko, General Iroh, your dinner's are ready and I took the liberty of setting apart an extra place for the guest."

"Thank you Lt. Jee" Zuko turned to look at Aang "would you mind dining with my Uncle and I?"

Aangs face brightened "Would I? I'd love too, just as long as I don't have to eat meat!"

Zuko smiled, the fact that many Airbenders where vegetarians was a well known fact so whenever an Airbender was present for a meal the host made certain to make Salad. The three retired to the dining quarters normally reserved for the Captain of the ship.

* * *

Zuko and Iroh where astonished at how much food Aang could eat. Zuko had to call for the cook to make more Salad as Aang consumed bowl after bowl. After a bit Zuko asked "which of the two Temples do you come from, the South or the West?"

"The South, but there are four Air Temples silly."

"Well, that is true but only two are inhabited so for all intents and purposes there are only two."

Aang's face looked alarmed "what do you mean. All the temples are inhabited, they are, why wouldn't they be?"

Zuko and Iroh glanced at each other; this child certainly seemed to be sheltered. Iroh spoke next "because of the war."

"What war?"

"You don't know about the war, how long where you imprisoned in that Iceberg?"

"I don't know, a few days, maybe a week."

"Where you aware of the passing of time?"

"No, the last thing I remember is falling into the ocean North of the Southern Water Tribe."

Iroh thought for a moment and then said "what if you where trapped in the iceberg for 100 years?"

"What? That's crazy, do I look like a 112 year old man to you?"

"No, but this war has been going on for 100 years and you haven't heard about it. You appear to be a little behind the times."

Zuko joined in "also, Sozin is long dead. He's been dead for decades, Azulon was my grandfather and he has been dead 5 years."

Aang's face had morphed into a look of horror, he put his face in his hands and groaned "100 years, how could I have been frozen for 100 years."

Zuko felt bad for the boy, he certainly would've felt bad if he'd found out he'd outlived everyone he'd ever knew. Iroh got up and laid a hand on Aang's shoulder "many times good things are mixed in with the bad."

"Well, at least I got found by you" said Aang with a brave attempt at a smile. Iroh and Zuko smiled back at him.

An awkward silence followed and Aang, attempting to break the ice, asked "soooo, what are you doing way out here. Since you're the Prince I figured you'd be at home studying how to rule the nation."

Zuko smiled "I'm continuing a long tradition started with Sozin, he had his son Azulon, my grandfather, search for the Avatar for a long time. Azulon had his children search for the Avatar, Iroh and my father, his younger brother Ozai, both searched for the Avatar at some point in their lives. When did you search for the Avatar uncle?"

"Before I had joined the army, I was given a ship much larger than this and searched the South Pole for the Avatar. Once I even thought I was close but I never found him. My younger brother Ozai searched when he came of age but he also failed. Now it is Zuko's turn and he see's this as more than a search. Don't you Prince Zuko."

"Yes, I see it as an opportunity to get to know what it's like for the people I will someday command."

Zuko looked at Aang and saw that he looked a bit uncomfortable, but then Aang asked "Iroh, if you were the oldest son of Azulon, shouldn't you be Firelord now that Azulon is dead?"

Iroh considered this "If I returned home and claimed my title I would be Firlord undoubtedly but I am more needed here to guide and teach my nephew. A Steward rules in my place while I am gone."

Aang nodded, and then Zuko asked "you spoke before as if you knew Sozin well, did you?"

Even though he didn't try to look it, Zuko knew that Aang was very uncomfortable with his question "well, I don't know. The Airbenders would take tours of the palace sometimes while he was trying to build relations with us in the past, I even talked to him a few times but I'm sure that there where hundreds of people who knew him better than me."

Zuko nodded, but maintained his own opinion on the matter. Then Aang stretched his arms and yawned "wow, who knew being in an iceberg for 100 years could make you so tired."

"The guard will show you to the guest quarters."

Aang thanked him and left the room. Iroh got up to go but Zuko said "Uncle, wait, I wish to discuss something with you."

Iroh sat down again and Zuko said "I think it's possible that Aang might be the Avatar."

Iroh stroked his goatee "that is a serious thing to say Zuko, I would like to hear why you have come to this conclusion."

"Well, he's from 100 years ago as far as we can tell which is exactly when the Avatar disappeared. He also speaks as if he knew my great-grandfather Sozin well, and we both know that Sozin took great interest in the Airbending Avatar, Avatar Roku being his good friend. Also, he looked extremely uncomfortable when I told him about my quest to search for the Avatar."

Iroh thought about this, eventually he said "I concede that there are arrows so-to-speak pointing to the boy. However, I think it would not be best if we press him to reveal his secret until he is ready. We must first gain his trust."

Zuko nodded and then stated that he was going to bed. Iroh agreed and both of them left to go to sleep.

* * *

On the ship, most of the men had retired for the night. The navigator who worked the night-shift was one of only two people on the top of the main tower of the ship. The other man was a lookout who had been chosen for his sharp eyes to make sure nothing unusual happened at night.

It was a moonlit night so there were no problems seeing. Thus, the lookout noticed the strange thing early on. It was a creeping mist that was slowly but surely gaining on the ship. He commented on this to the Helmsman and he suggested that they wake Lt. Jee. He complied and Lt. Jee came, rather sleepily, to see what was the matter.

Upon seeing the mist he surveyed it for a bit and then ordered the Helmsman to bank steeply to the left. He did so and Jee watched the fog. The part closest to them, and the part that stuck out the most, banked in the same way, so as to continue after them. In an alarmed voice Jee told the lookout to get the Prince and the General and raise the alarm in the barracks.

* * *

Zuko hurriedly put on his normal clothing and his armor and rushed out to the deck. Lt. Jee had come down from the lookout post and Zuko rushed up to him.

"Lieutenant, what's going on?"

"We're being followed by something; the mist behind us keeps turning in order to follow us!"

At that moment the Dragon of the West, the retired General Iroh came on deck.

"What's happening Prince Zuko?"

"We're being followed by that mist, what do you make of it?"

Iroh surveyed it.

"I've seen these tactics before from my military days. Waterbenders will make mist in order to cover their boats coming and will take the enemy by surprise."

"But the Empire ship we saw when we found Aang fell behind us all day, why wouldn't they just use the tactic then?"

'They've gained much more ground in the night, see, their less than half a mile behind us now."

They watched the mist with baited breath for a few seconds, wondering what would happen.

Then the first missile came.

* * *

Aang fell to the floor when the ship gave an almighty jerk. Sleepily he got up and walked out of the room. He had slept in his clothes. He saw people rushing about and then heard a distressed groan from Appa up on the deck. He quickly conjured up an Air-Scooter and streaked down the halls and up onto the deck. A good deal of people were running around as Aang zoomed up to Zuko.

"ZUKO, WHAT'S GOING ON?"

WE'RE BEING PURSUED BY AN EMPIRE SHIP, MOST LIKELY THE ONE WE SAW EARLIER TODAY!"

Aang looked and saw the mist creeping up on them. He also saw a large portion of the back of the ship that was facing the mist had been smashed in by a large boulder. Aang heard metal gears working and looked back to see a catapult now resting on the deck of the ship. They loaded it and then the ship banked steeply to the left. Before the mist could react and change course Zuko lit the missile in the catapult and they shot it into the mist. Aang thought he saw the dim outline of something as the lighted boulder flew into the fog but he couldn't make anything else out. Then the mist altered course to follow them directly again.

Aang saw that the mist was now only about as long as the ship was away. Then he had an idea. He ran to the back of the ship and waited until the mist was so close he could've leapt off and landed in it. Then he sent wave after wave of powerful air blasts back and the mist fell away to reveal a ship flying both the colors of the Nothern Water Empire and the Earth Empire. In the front of the enemy ship's deck stood a girl who, despite looking just as old as Aang, was obviously giving directions.

But when she spotted Aang, her eyes flared and she gathered up an Earth missile and launched it straight at Aang. He dodged and ran back to the front deck. Zuko saw the ship that was now revealed and shouted "HARD TO PORT! READY ANOTHER SHOT!"

The ship turned a hard left and put the catapult in firing range. Before they could load however, grappling hooks latched onto the side of the ship and began pulling them together. Despite their continued attempts to get away the Waterbenders on the opposite ship began manipulating the water so that the Fire Nation ship could make little to no progress.

Then a voice hailed out over the space separating the ships.

"WAIT! I DON'T SEEK THE UTTER DESTRUCTION OF BOTH OUR SHIPS, I MERELY SEEK ONE INDIVIDUAL FROM YOURS!"

Zuko strode forwards "WHO AM I SPEAKING TO AND WHO DO YOU WANT!"

The girl stepped forward "TOPH, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, CAPTAIN OF THIS VESSSEL! MY WATERBENDERS AND EARTHBENDERS WILL MAKE SHORT WORK OF YOUSR SHIP IF YOU REFUSE TO COMPLY. THE PERSON I SEEK IS THE AVATAR!"

There was a deadly silence as both sides stared at each other and Zuko's mind raced "YOU MUST BE MISTAKEN, AS FAR AS I CAN BE SURE THERE IS NO AVATAR ABOARD MY VESSEL!"

"DON'T LIE TO ME, I SAW THE BOLT OF LIGHT AND THE AIR BISON AND JUST NOW IT WAS AN AIRBENDER THAT REVEALED MY SHIP TO YOU! IF YOU DON'T PRODUCE HIM WITHIN THE NEXT 5 MINUTES I WILL SHOOT AS MANY HOLES IN THE HULL OF YOUR SHIP AS I CAN!"

She combined a good deal of Earth missiles and lifted them above her head in order to prove her point. Then, from the shadows, Aang leapt up on the railing of Zuko's ship and said "STOP! I'M THE AVATAR!"

Silence reigned as everyone looked at Aang in amazement, Zuko not as much as the others though, given he'd already suspected this. Then the girl said "IF YOU'RE THE AVATAR, THEN YOU ARE MY PRISONER, COME OVER HERE!"

Zuko strode forward and placed a hand on Aang's shoulder "HE'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"

The girl's face morphed into a frustrated look and she chucked the rock as hard as she could at Aang. Aang dodged and the benders on either side began firing at each other. The Earthbenders and Waterbenders on the Empire ship began using their respective elements to attack the enemy while the Firebenders bombarded them with fireballs. Aang ran quickly to the back of the ship and, using the fact that the Waterbenders were distracted, began a using a technique designed to get them out of there. He formed a large vortex which touched down in the water and, needing something to push, it pushed him and by extension, the ship as he braced his body against it.

The ship moved forward away from the Empire ship and Aang once again ran to the front deck. The crew was busy trying to increase their speed while Zuko stood watching the Empire ship which was turning to pursue them. When Aang ran up to him Zuko turned and patted Aang on the shoulder.

"Thanks Aang, you're lucky to have aboard!"

"Aren't you shocked that I'm the Avatar?"

"I kinda guessed it after supper was done."

"Wow, I guess you're pretty smart thanks."

Aang felt that maybe it wouldn't be so bad living in this time period if he had Zuko as his friend. But a moment later he saw something very unwelcome. One of the boulders the Empire ship had fired was headed right for him. He leapt out of the way, forgetting Zuko who wasn't so fortunate.

Thought it didn't hit him it smashed the side of the ship right next to him. He fell into the water with a resounding splash and Aang shouted "ZUKO! NOOOO!" Then he leapt into the water after him.

It seemed that Zuko had been knocked out as he sunk deeper and deeper with his eyes closed. Aang reached him and attempted to pull him up but he was too heavy. They sank deeper and deeper until Aang started slipping into unconsciousness.

Then, just when he was sure he would die, he felt a surge of energy as his tattoos began to glow.

* * *

Iroh anxiously watched the waters, just when he had lost hope that Zuko and Aang would ever resurface the water began to glow. The Avatar burst out on a funnel of water with Zuko in tow and laid Zuko safely on his ship. Then the Avatar turned his attention to the Empire ship. He swept his hand with the same motion as giving a small slap but the effects where tremendous. The Fire Nation ship shot forward while the Empire ship was smashed backwards by an extremely large wave. Then the Avatar brought up several large balls of water and froze them into tree sized ice spears. He shot them off and they all buried themselves deep in the Empire ship. Then he once more flicked his hand and a gigantic wave formed and smashed the Empire ship even further away, it wouldn't be catching them anytime soon.

Then Aang flew back to the Fire Nation ship and collapsed on the deck as his tattoos stopped glowing. Zuko ran to help him up "are you okay Aang."

" . . . yeah, just don't make me do that again . . . please."

Zuko smiled as he helped Aang up.

* * *

Back on the Empire ship the Avatar's ice spears had smashed several extremely large holes in their hull, the most damaging one had happened below the waterline and they were taking on water fast. The Waterbenders immediately sprung into action and froze the water in and around the hole. However, Ice being more buoyant than water it had the effect of unbalancing the ship. It didn't capsize but it made moving to their port side more difficult than usual.

Toph called all of the Earthbender's together and they gathered up all the Earthbending missiles they had on hand. They combined them into one solid boulder and, putting as much strength as they could into it, they hurled the boulder after the fleeing Fire Nation ship. It sailed straight and true, right at the ship.

* * *

Zuko saw the boulder coming and shouted "BRACE FOR IMPACT!"

Aang however hopped on his glider and flew towards the boulder. He came close to the boulder and then folded in his wings, and swung his staff with the back fins still open. The air blast that came out redirected the boulder enough so that it wouldn't hit him but it still was going to glance off of the Ship. Then another Air blast came from behind Zuko and the boulder, adequately redirected, landed away from the ship. Zuko turned and saw that Appa had gotten up and had his tail facing the back of the ship. Then he remembered that Flying Bison where Airbenders too, the originals in fact. Each Bending discipline had their own originators who taught them to the humans, Air Bison, Dragons, Badgermoles, and the Moon.

Aang landed and the men cheered for him.

* * *

Toph was shaking in rage, Yue place a hand on her shoulder, trying to placate her best friend.

"Princess Toph, don't worry, the Avatar is just a 12 year old boy along with a ragtag crew of the Fire Nation in a small Frigate."

Toph seemed to calm a bit, at least she got control of herself enough to stop shaking but she still glared after the ship with her one good eye, her other stayed as milky and as blind as ever. She stated in low and flat voice "they nearly just wrecked my ship, I won't underestimate them again. TAKE US TO THE NEAREST REPAIR PORT! I'll find him, one way or another. And then I'll have my life back."

She stalked below deck to look at some maps of the area. Yue looked at the retreating form of the Fire Nation ship. The Avatar returning was certainly a new development. She returned to her quarters to compose several letters.

* * *

After everyone had mostly gone back to sleep, Zuko, Aang and Iroh held a conversation.

"Why didn't you tell us outright that you where the Avatar Aang?"

"Well . . . because I never wanted to be."

Iroh nodded, he didn't think it could be comfortable to have all that responsibility when you where only 12.

"Aang, the world has been waiting for the return of the Avatar for 100 years, we'll help you."

Aang looked gratefully at the two and said "thanks . . . guys, what happened to the Airbenders after I left?"

Now it was Zuko's turn to look uncomfortable "the Empires attacked and slaughtered them in 3 of the 4 temples. The Western Air Temple was the only one that survived though how they managed to maintain the nation when they were all female I have no idea."

Aang grinned "you obviously didn't study too well, the Western Air Temple wasn't merely all female, it was just dominated by females. There where plenty of men there but they where far outnumbered by the women. That's what probably gave the illusion that there where only women living there."

Aang thought for a moment and then said "guys, if you don't mind, I'd like to go see the Western Air Temple. I have to see what's changed and reconnect with the Airbenders there."

Zuko nodded "we'll go there after we get the ship repaired, it's been through a beating."

Aang nodded and then they all left to go to bed. Aang had dreams about his running away before he finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

_I experienced some conflict with myself over how I was going to prevent this from copying the canon so I cut out Toph's uncle. Also, don't worry, I have an explanation for Toph being a Princess and why she's only half blind. It'll probably come up in the chapter version of "The Storm."_

_I hope you enjoyed this. I hope I didn't rush anything out and I hope I explained some things that might have been confusing. _

_I'll try to clear some things up, Zuko still has his scar (it's hard to imagine him without it). But the explanation for the scar this time will differ. _

_Iroh is technically Firelord but he views teaching his nephew more important than that. A steward rules in his place, in other words, a caretaker._

* * *

_**Now here's the mailbag:**_

new moongirl

so cool! =D write more please!

_I hope you liked this._

Rod Serling

If Toph is blind (and I assume she is) how did she see the beam of light?

_She's only half blind in this. I've got an explanation for it that will be revealed later in the story._

KaliAnn

It does sound a bit confusing, but hopefully you actions will explain it all

_Sorry if you got confused. I hope this explained at least some of it. If it didn't, please post your questions in your next review._

Squidcats

I foresee character pastes in the future... please tell me this isn't going to be just the same plot as the original series but with different character roles. THat would be boring

2) The Fire Nation is located on the equator. For an iceberg from the south to get NORTH of the FN... Well, that's one tough iceberg. It would be more believable if it was slightly south of the FN. So it wouldn't... ya know... melt.

3) Since when does Toph have the powers of sight? If your going to give Toph milky eyes, you could at least give her the rest of the package. And don't give me that "It's an AU" crap. Sozin saving Roku has nothing to do with Toph's visionary abilities.

4) Toph has an Uncle? Is this some previously unheard of Uncle, or is it just Pakku?

5) Fire Nation line of succession... is Azulon still in power or was Iroh just skipped for reasons unexplained? If it's the former, Zuko wouldn't be the crown price. He would just be the prince.

Now that I have all of that out of my system... okay, I'll be honest. This chapter isn't as good as the first one. The first chapter opened up a realm of possibilities that could have been explored, but this one is rather disappointing. I feel that you took the easy way out.

That being said, you should continue with the story. I might be wrong and this could turn out to be a nice high quality fic. Don't base anything on the opinion of a single review(especially when that review comes from a fourteen year old girl who hasn't even written anything. then again, you don't need to write in order to form an educated opinion, or to know good writing when it stares you in the face... or when it just falls flat). Yes, I realize that this is a mean review, and that it could be considered a flame. Feel free to delete it if you so choose. It's not my story.

_I am going to try and differentiate it from the canon. I may borrow some episodes once in awhile but I'll try to make it my own creation._

_Something I don't think I adequately stressed in the fic was that the Iceberg, when it was in the South Pole and drifting Northwards, was enormous. It was big enough to survive the trip. It was still pretty big when Zuko found it but as Iroh said it barely had a week yet to live._

_I will explain her visionary abilities later on. To specify, I said in the fic that only one of her eyes was milky, she is half blind. _

_I decided to change that, you where right, I was trying to put him there simply to replace Iroh. Yue will now take Iroh's place but I shall try to make it different since they are both still young women._

_Yet another plot point that will explained later on._

_I hope these explanations are good enough. Thanks for the criticism._

seti31

Toph as Zuko good one.

_Thanks, instead of a scar, she's half blind. Not that that's how it always was._

_I hope you liked this chapter. I posted another Avatar story titled "Shyu's Story" detailing what I think would've been cool if it had happen concerning the good Fire Sage in "The Solstice: Avatar Roku." If you haven't already, please try it._

* * *

_Good day and God Bless :)_

_Sincerely, LordGodsServant._


	4. Differing Duels

_After an underwhelming amount of reviews on the last chapter I finally got around to this. Also, at the end of the chapters, I will provide at times some little pamphlets per say of information about the setting of the story._

_A reminder of a character if you don't remember. Tyro is the father of Haru._

* * *

Two ships limped in two directions. The Fire Nation ship was going Northwest while the Empire ship was headed East. Both were damaged and in need of repair and both headed towards a destination that would meet that need. Both never suspected the dramatic encounters they would have at both their destinations.

* * *

Zuko was standing on the prow of his ship. The Fire Nation rig was coming into sight. In an area where the Fire Nation had found that the sea sloped upwards abruptly to nearly break the surface, they had built a gigantic metal shipyard. It was out in the middle of the Northern Sea and was a hub of activity for the Alliance's navies. Fire Navy ships often went there for repairs and resupplying as well as to recuperate. It was run mostly by Fire Nation personnel but as well as being a military installation it was a place where most of the merchants and such could come to sell their wares under a small fee. Sea trade prospered on the rig but its main function was for the purpose of maintaining the Triple Alliance's war effort.

The Shipyard was several miles across and could easily house many ships. It had repair yards, simple wooden docks, barrack's, and even a merchant's section. Zuko, being the Prince, steered his way towards the repair yards. As the ship docked, he scanned the platforms and to his disgust, found the one man he'd hoped he wouldn't run into, Zhao.

* * *

Toph, though she didn't know it, was mimicking Zuko and was standing on the prow of her own ship as well. She was watching as they drew towards a military outpost owned by the Empires. The Splinter of Peasants had been steadily losing ground over the course of the war and was for the most part backed up against the sea and under immense pressure by the Empires.

The Military installation she was sailing for was one that had been taken in recent years and repurposed to help attacking forces from the Empires. She didn't expect a warm welcome when she landed; after all, she was just a girl who had been humiliated and hurt to make an example of a woman's place in the Earth Kingdom society. She ran her fingers over the scars around her left eye, coincidentally it was her blind eye.

Her ship was accepted and it moved to a repair yard. Toph left it to her Lieutenant to handle the proceedings and went belowdecks to find Yue. She found her in the bay that they held a smaller ship used for short excursions. But it also held Yue's pet Polar Bear Dog. She was currently feeding it large chunks of meat and petting him.

The thing was large, about half the size of the Avatar's Flying Bison, and Yue had named him Pakuni, she'd never told Toph why. It had large broad front paws and two thinner legs in the back. Its mouth was full of sharp, dangerous teeth. Yue turned to see Toph and smiled as she asked "are we docking?"

"Yes, we need to repair the damage that the Avatar did to the ship; also I don't want you to mention the Avatar. I don't want competition for him, I've already warned the crew."

"Okay, I'll look forward to some good food."

Toph smirked as she privately agreed. She reached out her hand and began to pet Pakuni. The Polar Bear Dog gave a deep, yet very loud purring sound as it licked her hand. Yue lifted some more of the meat and threw it in the air and it was snapped up by the animal before it had hit the ground.

"Magnificent creature isn't it" said a voice.

Both girls turned around and Toph said in an even voice "General Tyro."

* * *

Zuko left command of the ship to Lieutenant Jee as he walked off the gangplank along with Iroh and Aang. Appa was in the same area used to hold the smaller ships on board and was being fed a cargo of hay that Zuko had requested. Zuko ordered the nearest officer to get a crew to repair his vessel and have it seaworthy again as soon as possible. The officer saluted smartly and ran off to complete the task.

"Well Prince Zuko, fancy seeing you here."

Zuko turned stiffly to see that Zhao had ambled down the docks to his ship. Zhao had a smirk on his face as he surveyed Zuko's ship.

"That's quite a lot of damage. Now where did you get hurt that extensively?"

"We ran into an Empire ship and it almost got us."

"I see, and what is this young Airbender doing here? Could he perhaps have to do with the large beam of light we saw yesterday?"

Zuko tensed even harder as he stared at Zhao, who smirked even more.

"Yes, he must've. Now what is your name young Airbender?"

Aang wasn't sure he liked Zhao, but he answered all the same "I'm Aang."

"Aang, hmmm, interesting. Now, while you're vessel's being repaired I'm sure you'd like to dine with me. After all I was recently promoted to Commander and that's cause for celebration."

Aang saw Zuko tense even further as he said "sorry, but we need to get busy."

"Prince Zuko, show commander Zhao respect, we'd love to dine with you."

Zhao and Iroh walked off down the docks but Aang and Zuko held back for a moment. Zuko gave a growl and shot off a small bit of fire in frustration, then they both followed.

"So you don't like Zhao huh?"

"No, he never did seem to like me but ever since Azulon's death 5 years ago he's never even bothered to disguise it. Unfortunately for me he's a good officer so he's vital to our war effort. Whenever we've come into contact he usually tries to make things hard for me."

"Wow, he sounds like a jerk."

Zuko smiled, "yeah, he kinda is one. Let's just get this over with."

They followed the two older men in front of them to Zhao's dining room.

* * *

Back in Toph's ship she was studying the General who had waltzed onto her ship. General Tyro was a famed leader who'd led the war for longer than most. He also sparked some controversy for the way he dealt with the lands he conquered. Other generals would invoke crushing taxes and kill all who apposed them but Tyro let the people live relatively in peace. His son, Haru, was also was known for his powerful bending. He personally led some of the best benders the war had ever seen.

Toph had seen the General occasionally at the courts of Ba Sing Se but she didn't know him well.

The General strode forward, surveying the large animal that was chewing on some meat.

"I have never seen such a large specimen up close, did you tame it yourself Princess Yue?"

"Yes, I found him abandoned and raised him."

"The Northern Water Tribe does not give its women enough credit, you are proof of that."

He turned to Toph and said with a smile "I could also say the same of some women in the Earth Kingdom." He waved his hand, "come, come you must dine with me. While we dine I will have your ship seen to promptly."

Toph cautiously accepted, she didn't know what the general was playing at but she had never met a man in the higher levels of authority who'd treated her with such dignity. At least not since Earth King Long Feng had stripped her of any standing she had with the nobles of the Empire's.

She followed along with Yue to the dining quarters.

* * *

In the dining chambers, Zuko was _not_ having fun. Zhao and Iroh could talk civilly enough, comparing notes on campaigns and discussing how to better the rig's efficiency but whenever the conversation went his way Zhao always began prodding him.

"So Prince Zuko, what was your mission again, to find the Avatar? Have you succeeded yet?"

"None of your business."

"Right" Zhao said as he chuckled "you know, sometimes I wonder why you ever took the quest. Sozin, Azulon, Ozai, and even the great General Iroh failed to find him. So I wonder how you, a boy, could think that you'd have more luck. I wonder if Azulon would've ever let you be Prince as you so obviously disgraced him."

Zuko clenched his knuckles and Iroh and Aang frowned. Zhao continued on "Yes, Azulon was one of the best Firelords our nation has had, leading our nation through the majority of this war. I wonder what you did to vex him so. Whatever it was it must've been horrible. I doubt he would've even thought you worthy to go on the quest to find the Avatar. I can see why, it only adds to your dishonor that you haven't found him yet."

Both Zuko and Iroh wanted to shout out objections but suddenly all of them held up their hands as a blast of air came from Aang banging his staff on the ground.

"Enough, I'm the Avatar, Zuko hasn't failed, in fact he succeeded. You should be bowing down in his presence."

Zhao looked shocked as he stared at Aang. Then he recovered and said "well then Avatar, I am pleased to announce that you will no longer have to travel with the Prince, I will be quite willing to give you transportation to anywhere you'd like to go."

This time Zuko stood up and said "how dare you! You dare to spit on my name in front of my Uncle and the Avatar!"

"I don't see why you are still so prideful Prince Zuko, after all, that scar should've shamed you so extensively you'd be afraid to show your face in public again."

"Maybe you'd like one to match!"

"Is that a challenge?"

"An Agni Kai, at sundown!"

"I hope you're ready to gain another scar."

Zuko strode from the room in anger. Zhao smirked and went to get ready.

* * *

Toph wasn't sure whether she was enjoying her meal or not. The General certainly was being courteous. But she wasn't sure she wanted to let her guard down.

"Princess Toph, I hope you are enjoying your lunch."

Toph nodded but didn't speak.

"I was out on the docks yesterday when I saw the strangest thing. A large beam of blue-white light shone suddenly into the sky. You came from that direction so I was wondering if you could tell me anything of it."

Toph looked up in alarm, but as Tyro realized this he quickly said "You do not have to tell me anything, this is merely a request."

Toph thought for a moment, and then said "I have nothing to say."

Tyro merely smiled and said "I understand. I sometimes see a good deal of your mother in you."

Toph's eyes flashed up, a questioning look in them and Tyro elaborated.

"I knew you're parents quite well. We were friends in the courts of Ba Sing Se. It was a dark day when they vanished. But they left behind a good daughter."

"Good daughter?" Toph questioned, she'd never heard anyone refer to her in that context. Then again, nobody really ever referred to her as the daughter of anyone but Earth King Long Feng through adoption.

Tyro continued to smile kindly and went on "your mother knew when to speak and when not to speak, but she also would not let anyone take advantage of her and had a razor sharp mind. Your father was a kind man, very smart and courageous. Both were a blessing to any who knew them. I have no doubt that they would be proud of you."

Toph smiled shyly, it actually felt nice to talk about her parents.

"So, how long did you know them?"

"A long time, as you know I've been a general for a good many years now and I have taken many trips home. I met your parents at a feast and became good friends, you weren't even born. We-"

But at that moment a servant had entered and said "sir, Earth General Li Tung has arrived and requests to join you; he's actually been here for about a half-hour already."

Toph looked questioningly at Tyro who looked very uncomfortable as he explained "a few weeks ago I requested that General Tung and I come together to compare notes. He wasn't expected for a few more days. I apologize for the intrusion and can have him wait while we finish-"

"No, I can just wait on my ship while you-"

Before Toph had finished speaking a middle–aged man had entered the room. He had black hair and was dressed in extremely good robes. His eyes passed over Tyro, Yue, and then Toph. He smirked as he saw her and said "I see that you are still captain of that ship docked in the harbors. Not that you deserve it."

He turned to Tyro "General, I see you feel kind enough to play host to vermin. I have some interesting information that I'm sure your guest neglected to mention."

Toph looked away as Tung continued "I had my men interrogate the crew of the ship and they told us some very interesting information. Apparently the Avatar was found by a Fire Nation ship and she let it slip through her grasp."

"I underestimated him, it won't happen again!"

The General looked incensed at her speaking out "speak when spoken to! I am amazed that months of banishment and humiliation haven't taught you the slightest role of a girl! But then again, what should I expect from a snot-nosed brat who only serves as a reminder of how weak women can be!"

He moved forward towards Toph but suddenly General Tyro was standing between them and his face was a mask of rage "you dare to insult the Princess in my presence!"

"She is a Princess no longer, or must I remind you of that Tyro."

"She is as far as I am concerned! That aside you are a despicable slinking coward to insult a girl of 12 years old! I will not allow such disgusting behavior in my presence!"

"Is that a challenge."

"I will fight you in a Terra Kai at sundown."

"I'll be ready" the General turned to leave and then looked back and smirked as he said "old man."

He left and Toph stood up as Tyro breathed deeply to calm himself down.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because no man has the write to insult someone when he is a guest, especially when that person has done nothing wrong as far as I am concerned."

"You don't have to do it; I'll fight for my own honor!"

"He wouldn't accept it. With no offense intended it's because you are a girl and 12 years old at that. I have heard that you are a good Earthbender but he would simply sneer."

"I could call him out on it, call him a coward!"

"It's too late for that. I issued the challenge and I will be the one to see it through. General Tung has needed to be knocked down to size for awhile now. I will take great enjoyment in being the one to do it."

Toph stared at him, this was beyond weird. General Tyro was unlike any other General she had met. She didn't want him to be inconvenienced by his helping her but it appeared he was determined to go through with it. General Tyro left the room, and a moment later, when prodded by Yue, Toph left it too.

* * *

Both the Fire Nation rig and the Empire Fortress were abuzz with news. On the Fire Nation rig the Prince had issued a challenge of an Agni Kai to the Commander of the rig, Zhao. In the Empire Fortress the commanding General had issued a challenge to the visiting General Tung to a Terra Kai on the grounds of the banished Princess's honor.

The men in the fortress under General Tyro were extremely loyal to him. He had long since earned their trust and admiration for the way he was respectful to those warranting it. They were prepared to cheer him on, even if they were divided over their opinions on the Princess.

On the Fire Nation rig the men did not have the same loyalty to Zhao. They recognized him as being quite good at what he did, fighting. But Zhao was sometimes prone to abuse the crew in fits of rage, nothing very bad or often. But the fact remained that the crew and citizens of the rig had no special love for Zhao. Many of them would be on Zuko's side while others who would go with the man they knew the most about, would support Zhao. All however questioned whether Zuko could win, for Zhao was recognized as a Firbending master.

The anticipation in both establishments grew with each passing hour. Merchants, seeking to take advantage of the hullabaloo, rolled out their wares to sell at higher prices to the crowds of onlookers.

By sunset the people had reached fever pitch as they entered the arenas where the duels would take place.

* * *

The Agni Kai arena on the Fire Nation rig was like a large rectangle. Stands rose on all four sides and in the middle was a field of plain stone with the Fire Nation symbol on the center of the field.

Zuko was being coached by Iroh in his last minutes before the duel.

"Remember your basics Prince Zuko, they could save your life."

Aang looked uneasy as he glanced down the field at Zhao who was waiting with a smirk.

"Are you sure you want to do this Zuko, you don't have to do this for my benefit or anything."

"I'm not doing this for your benefit; he insulted my honor and has been insulting my honor for years. I will not allow it to continue."

Zuko got up and let the ceremonial towel slide off of him as Zhao reciprocated. Both men had extremely good physique. The gong rang and they advanced slowly. The thoughts flashed across Zuko's mind about what had happened last time he'd faced a master firebender.

"_But this is different!_" he thought to himself. He resolved not to lose this time.

Zuko gathered fire into his palms and released a powerful fireball. It passed Zhao by as he sidestepped it and the crowd roared its approval.

The Duel had begun.

* * *

The Earth Kingdom arena was more like a Coliseum. It was round with stands rising on every side. In the middle, sunken down so that everyone could look down on it was the dueling field. Instead of putting the Earth symbol in the middle as the duelist would use the Earth, it was displayed on all the side walls at intervals.

Tyro was sitting in the classic meditation pose as he enjoyed the last few minutes before his duel started. He was aware that Toph was sitting in the seat he usually reserved for himself or someone of great importance visiting. Yue sat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her friend. Tyro mentally smirked. He was sure Toph was dumbfounded as to why he was going to all this trouble for her benefit. She had only seen the side of Earth Kingdom nobles that wanted to subjugate women. Tyro was among the other side. He felt that the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribe severely undervalued their women. He also personally did not see Princess Toph's "offense" as such. Though she may have quite frankly been stupid she hadn't done anything wrong as far as he was concerned.

He saw his opponent come into the ring and he rose. Though getting on a bit in years he was still very muscular and in shape. The two men advanced as the gong sounded, signaling the duel to begin. The men in the stands cheered, mostly in favor of Tyro.

As the two men advanced General Tung began speaking in a mocking voice "I shall enjoy beating you old man. Not the least of it is that I shall shame not only you, but also that girl sitting in the stands behind you. I really have no idea why you would protect one as pathetic as her.

Toph made to get up but Yue grabbed her shoulder and forced her down, saying "don't let him get to you; Tyro knows what he's doing."

General Tung brought up a rock and flung it at Tyro. Tyro's stance was firm, like a rock himself. He broke the rock before it had gotten halfway to him into tiny pebble sized pieces and the crowd yelled its approval as the two men joined battle.

* * *

Zhao blocked fireblasts coming from Zuko with ease. The Prince was wasting energy by using simply fireballs. Zhao blocked one particularly big one and sent his own hurtling back at the Prince. The Prince blocked it and Zhao grinned in anticipation of the easy victory he sensed.

Zuko contemplated his next move and he heard Iroh's voice ringing out over the noise of the crowd "BASICS ZUKO! BREAK HIS ROOT!"

Then Zuko had an idea. As Zhao launched another fireball at him he pretended to block it with difficulty. He repeated the process as Zhao mistook his faked heavy breathing as a sign that he was tiring already.

Zhao, too proud or vain to realize that it was too early into the fight for Zuko to become seriously tired, suspected nothing as he moved in closer. The distance between the two decreased rapidly as Zhao moved in for what he assumed would be the kill.

Then Zuko fell. To all eyes it appeared that the last fireball sent his way had knocked him down, but Iroh saw that Zuko had deliberately overbalanced and was ready to get up again in a single movement.

Zuko's trap worked to perfection as Zhao leapt in, so close to the Prince they were almost touching and released a firball at his chest.

Aang blanched in fear but as he glanced it Iroh he was surprised to see that he was smiling.

Even before Zhao had landed Zuko had begun to move. His lower body spun as he balanced on his hands and his foot connected with Zhao's at exactly the last moment. Zuko was up on his feet again in a perfect stance as Zhao stumbled backwards, tripping over his own feet and almost falling over.

Zuko wasted no time and began his relentless attacks. Zhao barely managed to block each fireball as it came his way and he stumbled back with Zuko continually advancing. Not giving him a break for a single instant.

Then Zhao, not able to fully block a fireball, finally fell. Zuko moved in, but in contrast to Zhao he stayed a safe distance away so that he could not be touched but could fry Zhao at a moments notice.

"Do it!" Zhao shouted bitterly, the sting of his defeat making him glare at Zuko.

Zuko let loose all of his pent up rage, anger, and frustration at the way the Commander treated him out all in one fireball. Then he stood up and began walking away, as the burned patch of ground a hairsbreadth away from Zhao's head began to smoke.

"That's it!" Zhao shouted as the crowd began cheering.

"Show some respect from now on or I won't be so kind" Zuko shot back as he strode out of the ring with Aang and Zuko congratulating him. Zhao barely held in all his rage until he'd left the arena and reached the training areas. Upon reaching it he let off all of his anger in a display that left him needing to buy many new practice dummies.

* * *

Tyro blocked another rock that came his way. Tung was good; there was no doubt about that. He raised his own rock and blasted it at the man. Tung blocked it and smirked as if he thought that was all Tyro could do. Tyro smirked to himself; he was not done, not by a long shot. Tung slammed his foot into the ground and the Earth missile moving through the Earth left a furrow as it sped towards Tyro. Tyro sidestepped it and instead of stopping it or letting it continue he used its momentum and brought it back around to hurl back at Tung.

Tung stopped the missile but his face clearly showed that he had some trouble doing it. Tung then scowled and unleashed a torrent of boulders out of the earth at Tyro. Tyro brought up a flat slab of Earth quickly and began using it like a surfboard to slide around the arena. This frustrated Tung to no end as he tried to hit him with a missile or provide obstacles for his vehicle in the Earth itself. Nothing had the slightest affect or connected in any way.

Tyro tired of seeing the frustrated look on Tung's face after awhile and decided he better end the duel. He stopped moving and dismounted his slab of stone. He then sent the slab flying at Tung who ducked. Tyro then brought up several large stones and skipped around the field as he sent them flying at Tung from different angles. Tung blocked them with difficulty but realized too late that he had not been paying attention to Tyro himself who had moved in close.

Before Tung could do anything, Tyro collapsed the ground beneath him and Tung fell into the Earth. Before he could do anything Tyro closed the Earth in around him and held it in place so he couldn't move an inch.

After a few moments struggling Tung stopped and sighed.

"I submit, you may kill me."

After a moment Tyro simply said "no" and released the Earth. He began walking away as the crowd cheered and Tung got out of the hole.

"COWARD!" Everyone froze.

Tung was smirking again. Apparently he had forgotten that he had just been beaten or didn't care.

"YOU ARE SUCH A COWARD THAT YOU CAN'T KILL ME! THEN AGAIN, WHAT CAN I EXPECT FROM A SENILE OLD MAN WHO PROTECTS A LITTLE, WHINY, BRATTY, GIRL!"

Then a pillar of stone erupted from the ground and smashed him backwards. Everyone gasped and looked around the field, for Tyro hadn't moved. Then they saw Toph striding onto the field, her knuckles clenched and her face red. Tyro started to speak but she cut him off and said "I WON'T SIT AROUND AND JUST LET HIM INSULT BOTH YOU AND ME! IF HE THINKS THAT I AM SO WEAK THEN WHY DOESN'T HE FIGHT ME MYSELF!"

The crowd gasped and looked at Tung, awaiting his response. He smirked after he'd picked himself up and said in a condescending voice "I have better things to do than to fight a girl."

Toph laughed, and everyone was confused until she shouted for everyone to hear "HE HAS THE NERVE TO CALL GENERAL TYRO A COWARD AND YET HE WON'T FIGHT A 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL!"

Everyone laughed, even Tyro laughed and Tung's face became a mask of rage.

"IF YOU HAVE A DEATHWISH GIRL, THEN I SHALL BE GLAD TO GRANT IT."

He blasted a rock forward but it was easily blocked by Toph. Tung blinked, then unleashed a flurry of the most complicated Earthbending moves he could think of.

Not one speck of dust touched either Toph, or Tyro. Everyone except for Yue, who had a smirk on her face, was gazing in amazement at the display.

Then Tung, in his rage, lifted up his foot to send another attack. But Toph closed her eyes much to everyone's surprise. She simply hit her foot into the ground and the next thing everyone knew, Tung was doing the splits on the floor of the arena. He gave a howl of pain and Toph did one more Earthbending move that slammed him through the doors on his end of the Coliseum.

Toph turned with a grin as the crowd erupted in to thunderous applause and cheers. Yue leapt down and strode out to them. She held up both their arms and shouted in a clear voice hearable by all "THE WINNERS ARE PRINCESS TOPH, AND GENERAL TYRO!"

Birds were sent flying from their trees in the nearby forest, wondering what the heck was going on with all the racket coming from the stadium. Humans always were a strange bunch.

* * *

Zuko's ship had already been repaired and he left the port immediately. Zhao did not see him off.

That night on the ship the entire crew held a victory party in which Iroh was finally able to cajole Zuko into playing the Tsungi horn. Aang had turned the offer down, honestly confessing that he was a horrible Tsungi Horn player. They had games ranging from Pai Sho to Fire displays and Air displays. Iroh caused them to stare in awe as he displayed his legendary breath of fire and his ability to shoot lightning. Lt. Jee sang many songs, including a love story that had them all crying at one point and cheering by the end.

All around it was one of the best nights that Zuko, Iroh, Aang, and even the entire crew had spent aboard the ship. But unfortunately it had to come to an end. The crew one by one retired, save those who were on duty, and Zuko, Iroh, and Aang went to bed. Aang was looking forward to the next day; they were due to reach the Western Air Temple.

* * *

Toph and Yue were treated to extremely good suites after the events of the duel. General Tung had left in a rage immediately afterwards so he wasn't around to worry about. Toph slept well that night, flushed with her victory, but Yue stayed up late. She wrote some letters part of the time and merely thought the other part. Then she went to sleep.

The next morning, Tyro treated Toph to a sumptuous breakfast and he and Toph spoke quite freely, Toph was now neither afraid or suspicious of him in any way. They discussed many things, the Avatar being only one of the subjects. They discussed the condition of the Empires, the validity of the war, and many other things before Yue finally joined them.

After they had finished eating Tyro spread his palms and said "Princess Toph, I would appreciate it if you could stay awhile longer as my guest of honor. I would like to show you the lands that the Empire has conquered and perhaps even have your help in a battle; Earthbending of your skill would be a definite asset.

Toph thought, she should try and pick up the Avatar's trail again.

"I accept your offer General Tyro."

They all grinned as they got up to go outside.

* * *

Aang woke up early and walked towards the top deck. Suddenly he heard a whoop and what sounded like an Air Bison. With wide eyes he sprinted up to the top. Several Air Bison were flying overhead. After hearing all the doom and gloom surrounding the Airbenders it gave Aang a feeling of mounting joy to see them right before his eyes. He gave a great whoop and sprinted down towards the part in the back of the ship holding Appa. Zuko met him along the way and followed him, asking him what was going on.

Down in the cargo hold Aang opened up the door leading out of the ship and leapt onto Appa. He shouted for Zuko to join him and Zuko quickly ordered a passing crewmember to tell his Uncle that he was leaving with Aang. He mounted Appa and they all flew out with Zuko clutching the saddle for dear life.

Up in the Air, Aang cheerily waved to one of the Airbenders who, though he was an adult, still had a youngish look about him. They both had their Air Bison's engage in a series of increasingly difficult air maneuvers and Aang cried out in joy, Zuko in fear. Then they stopped and made their way quickly towards the Western Air Temple.

Aang couldn't wait to get there.

* * *

_I especially like writing the second half of this. Sorry for the long update gap. I just started college._

_I was really discouraged by a lack of reviews for the last chapter so please, review._

_Here are some small pamphlets of information that will be included at the end of some chapters:_

_**Earth Cannon:**_

_A cylinder shaped metal tube that can rotate on an axis. It is a recent innovation and addition to the Earth Kingdom navy. It is designed to protect an Earthbender from ranged attacks. It also is designed to augment an Earthbender's accuracy as he shoots long distances. These are majorly used on ships in the Earth Kingdom Navy as a counterbalance to the Fire-Nation catapults._

_**Ice Crossbow:**_

_Just as the Earth Kingdom has improved with the Earth Cannon the Northern Water Tribe has had the Ice Crossbow added to its arsenal. It is a gigantic crossbow that instead of using wooden arrows uses ones made from ice. The arrows can be made sharp or blunt depending on the circumstances._

_**Terra Kai**__:_

_A tradition that started with Earth King Hachma. It started when some of his nobles voiced opposition to the war. The Earth King, a reputable Earthbender, challenged them to duels and beat them severely. It has become a tradition that spread to both the other nations as well to some degree, although in the Airbenders it's more like a game used to release pent-up tension. For the Water Tribes it is called a Sedna Kai, for the Airbenders it is simply called an Air Kai._

_**Empirical Navy:**_

_In the early years of the war it became apparent that the Earth King Navy was severely lacking when it came to actual effectiveness. Thus, after several decades of leaving most of the naval warfare to the Northern Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom put considerable effort into improving its navy overall. Though in terms of effective warfare the Earth Kingdom is still around the back end of those who do have large navies, the ship quality is extremely improved over what it was 100 years ago. Older models are still used by police forces and such but they are continually being sold for scrap in favor of newer models, Pirates sometimes buy them._

_In recent years especially great improvements have been made in Earth Kingdom technology by a certain Mechanist. Not the least of which being the Earth cannon._

_**Long Feng as Earth King:**_

_I am leaving most of the information of this to be revealed later in the story. One question or hint if you will: How do you think the King of Ba Sing Se in the canon series would do running a nation/war and dealing with another nation._

_P.S. – Arnook is still the leader of the Northern Water Tribe, no change there. But he is not the same, kind man we knew in the series._

* * *

_The Waterbender version of Agni Kai (Sedna Kai) is taken from another fic called "Avatar Distorted Reality." I believe Sedna means moon in something like Inuit. If you haven't checked out the fic I highly recommend it. Warning though, it's been discontinued._

* * *

_Time for the Mailbag:_

KaliAnn

Well it gets more complex and interesting as you write. I love the new personalities

_**Thanks, I hope you like this new chapter. I really appreciate how you review for most of my stories. I apologize for not reciprocating.**_

FireLady24

I love this story! ^.^ I hope you get to make more soon! I really like it!

_**Thanks, hope you like this chapter, I also hope that my laziness habits won't grab hold and I'll spend another 2 months before updating.**_

Adam Hardy

...interesting... I think this is the only AU where this particular change happened. The Fire Nation are the good guys! Holy crap! Not gonna say much more because there're other chapters, so...

Holy frik it's Yue and Toph!

Oh, how pairings will change.

And... Jawdrop. It's hard reading this when you're so used to canon, because you spend more time adjusting.

Anyway, it's safe to predict.

I'm fairly sure Mai, Ty Lee, maybe Azula will replace Sokka and Katara, and vice-versa. Where are Sokka and Katara?

You said Kyoshi Island was part of the Fire Nation's 'team'. Is it safe to say the Kyoshi Warriors are among the protagonists?

This kind of thing is either a masterpiece or a trainwreck: so far, it's not a trainwreck.

_**Most pairings I believe will stay the same, though some may change. For example I am not so sure Aang will end up with Katara this time around. However this is only the beginning and my feelings on it are liable to change just like everyone else. **_

_**I guess to see the main people in the group you'll just have to wait like everyone else, I hope you liked this chapter. **_

_**Kyoshi Island is on the side of the Fire Nation yes.**_

_**I hope this didn't make it into a trainwreck.**_


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